Overview
- World Motor Sport Council approval raises event staff limits from 58 to 60 and expands pre-season to three tests for 2026, pending F1 Commission ratification.
- Pre-season running is scheduled for Barcelona on January 26-30, followed by Bahrain tests on February 11-13 and February 18-20.
- Launch season includes Red Bull and Racing Bulls liveries on January 15 in Detroit at Ford’s Michigan Central Station, Alpine and Haas on January 23, Cadillac’s first livery in a Super Bowl TV spot on February 8, and Aston Martin’s AMR26 reveal on February 9.
- The 2026 cars retain 1.6-litre V6 turbos with the MGU-H removed, target roughly a 50% electrical contribution on fully sustainable fuels, introduce movable wings, drop DRS and add a push-to-pass energy boost.
- The grid realigns with Cadillac entering as an 11th team with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez on Ferrari power initially, Audi replacing Sauber with a new leadership structure, Red Bull partnering with Ford, Honda supplying Aston Martin, Alpine switching to Mercedes engines, and rookie Arvid Lindblad joining Racing Bulls.